Latent Household Food Security in Raja Ampat Marine Protected Areas: A Binary CFA Approach

Abstract

This study examines household food security in four marine protected areas in Raja Ampat using repeated cross-sectional household survey data. Data were collected between 2010 to 2024, grouped into five monitoring periods. This study aims to provide a measurement framework for household food security as a latent construct based on binary indicators representing dimensions of food access and to estimate latent household food security scores in the four analyzed areas. In addition to applying confirmatory factor analysis to new empirical data, this study also presents a systematic estimation framework for measuring the latent construct using binary household indicators in repeated cross-sectoral survey data. The framework includes indicator threshold estimation, tetrachoric correlation estimation, parameter estimation using the robust diagonally weighted least squares method, and derivation of latent scores based on posterior expectations using the Gauss–Hermite quadrature approach. The analysis results indicate that the one-factor model provides acceptable fit and adequate construct reliability across the analyzed area-period groups. Estimates of factor loadings and thresholds provide information on the relative contribution and severity of each indicator in representing variations in household food access conditions. Overall, the goodness-of-fit indices indicate that the one-factor structure provides a reasonable representation of the relationships among the observed indicators under the fitted measurement model.